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iPad Pro vs iPad (2018) comparison for college / university students

2018-06-09 · Tech review, setup or bag tour · Ali, Charlotte · recording, 10:01 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Tools, apps and tech · mode: Review and recommendation · tags: Aimed at students

Ali, a final-year Cambridge medical student, compares note-taking on his iPad Pro and his friend Charlotte's 2018 iPad, finds them nearly identical apart from slight input lag and a more plasticky feel, and recommends the cheaper iPad to most students, while explaining why the iPad Pro is still worth about £2 a week to him.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — The conclusion up front and the plan of the video

  • ★★ Writing notes on each other's devices, Ali's friend Charlotte could notice no difference between her 2018 iPad and his iPad Pro, and Ali noticed only a very slight difference. — 00:00:29 · iPad Pro, Charlotte

00:01:46 — Ali and Charlotte write in Notability on each other's iPads

00:02:49 — The two main differences: input lag and the premium feel of the laminated screen

  • ★★ With the 2018 iPad, Ali noticed a very slight extra input lag between the Apple Pencil touching the glass and the words appearing on screen. — 00:02:50 · iPad Pro
  • ★★ One reason for the 2018 iPad's input lag, Ali says, is its gap between the glass and the screen, which the iPad Pro's laminated screen does not have. — 00:03:26 · iPad Pro
  • ★★ The other reason, Ali says, is the iPad Pro's 120 Hz refresh rate, which makes things appear more smoothly, as he first noticed when swiping between apps. — 00:03:56 · iPad Pro
  • ★★ The 2018 iPad felt slightly more plasticky to Ali than the iPad Pro because its screen is not fully laminated; he does not think that is a placebo effect. — 00:04:25 · iPad Pro
  • ★ With graphics-intensive apps, Ali says, the iPad Pro performs better than the 2018 iPad. — 00:04:25 · iPad Pro
  • ★★ Charlotte, who has used her 2018 iPad for months, says she has never felt it slow; Ali noticed a very slight lag on button taps in Notability, such as changing pens and colours. — 00:04:54 · Charlotte, Notability, iPad Pro

00:05:21 — Pricing, and why Ali would still buy the iPad Pro

  • ★★ The base model of the iPad Pro costs £300 or $300 more than the base model of the 2018 iPad. — 00:05:23 · iPad Pro
  • ★★ For a student who just takes notes, browses YouTube and edits documents, Ali sees pretty much no reason to get the iPad Pro unless they have spare cash and want the top of the range. — 00:05:23 · iPad Pro
  • ★★★ Ali would still probably buy the iPad Pro himself: spreading its £300 extra cost over the three years he expects to use it, about 150 weeks, comes to about £2 a week. (hedged) — 00:05:52 · iPad Pro
  • ★★ Writing on his iPad Pro feels so good, Ali says, that over time it has encouraged him to write more notes and make more plans for videos. — 00:06:57 · iPad Pro
  • ★★ Because the iPad Pro feels so good to use, Ali has taken up hand lettering on it and is learning digital art. — 00:06:57 · iPad Pro
  • ★★★ To Ali the iPad Pro is an absolute joy to write on while the 2018 iPad is only functional, and that pleasure justifies the extra £2 a week for him personally. — 00:07:28 · iPad Pro
  • ★★ Because he makes money from tech work such as videos, coding, his business and graphic design, Ali thinks the iPad Pro, by making him use it more, will earn him more than its extra £2 a week. — 00:07:57 · iPad Pro
  • ★ The longer Ali keeps the iPad Pro, the more its extra cost is spread out over time. — 00:08:26 · iPad Pro

00:08:56 — Summary for students and sign-off

  • ★★ For people who make money on the internet, like the luxury and think it may make them spend more time on the device, Ali says the iPad Pro is probably worth it. (hedged) — 00:08:56 · iPad Pro
  • ★★ Anyone even slightly unsure between the iPad Pro and the 2018 iPad should go to an Apple store, try both and judge for themselves, Ali says. — 00:09:25 · iPad Pro
  • ★★★ For the vast majority of students, who are not trying to make money online with illustration and graphics, Ali highly recommends the 2018 iPad over the iPad Pro. — 00:09:25 · iPad Pro

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Mentioned

Central: iPad Pro

Also: Charlotte · Notability · University of Cambridge

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